Cane-crushing apparatus



Patented Apr. 10, 1923.

HENRY HURTER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSORI, ASSIGNOR T0 FULTOIJ IRON WOIR'KSCOM- IPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE. v i'CANE-CRUSHIG APPARATUS.

Application filed 'May 10,

T0 aZZ 'whom it may concem:

Be it known that I, HENRY HURTER, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, a resident of the city of St. Louis, in the State of Misso-uri,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cane- CrushingApparatus, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in cane crushing apparatus, suchas cane mills or crushers having rolls provided with peripheral ribsadapted to act upon the cane to express the juice therefrom. Rolls ofthis general type, provided with peripheral ribs and grooves, are oldand well known in the art, the present invention being limited tocertain elements, or combinations of elements, located at the ends ofthe rolls to obstruct and retard juice and cane tending to escape at theends of the rolls. rllhe side margins of the moving mass of cane lie atthe end portions of the rolls, where they are subjected to pressuretend'ing to spread the mass of cane, thereby tending to force some ofthe cane and juice onto the extreme end faces of the rolls. My object isto confine the traveling web of cane between the end portions of therolls in such a manner that the pressure of the rolls will not result infree escape of cane and juice at the ends of the rolls. Heretofore, thegrooves and ribs at the extreme ends of the rolls have been identicalwith all of the other grooves 'and ribs, each rib being usually V-shapedin cross section, and as a result of the pressure on the cane passingbetween end portions of the rolls, juice and trash were forced outwardlyand permitted to escape along the inclined faces of the ribs and groovesat the extreme ends of the rolls. These undesirable results were partlydue to the pressure tending to spread the mass of cane or bagasse, andpartly to the end inclines allowing crushed cane and juice to be forcedfrom the ends of the rolls.

The preferred form of this invention includes rolls having end ribs andend grooves tending to preventfree escape of cane and juice, the endgrooves being provided with walls forming abrupt Shoulders tending toprevent lateral displacement of the material, as will be hereinafterpointed out.

1920. seriarrro. 380,381.

of a cane crusher, or cane mill, embodying the features of thisinvention.

Fig. IT is a transverse Vertical section taken approximately on the lineII-II, F ig. I.

Fig. HI is an enlarged Vertical section illustrating the ribs andgrooves at the end portions of the rolls.

To illustrate the preferred form of the invention, I have shown sideframes or housings 1 provided with suitable bearings for the shafts 2 ofcrushing rolls and B. Each of these rolls is provided with peripheralcrushing ribs 3, preferably V- shaped in cross section. The ribs of eachroll extend into corresponding circumferential grooves in the otherroll.

The top roll A is provided with end' ribs 4 of less depth than theintermediate ribs 3, and these end ribs extend into correspondinglyformed end grooves 5 in the lower roll B. The end ribs 6, on' thelower'i roll B, are of less depth than the intermediate ribs. The lowerroll is also provided with end flanges 7 overlapping the ends of theupper' roll. vAs shown most clearly in Fig. III, each end] groove 5 isprovided with a base wall 8 parallel with the aXis of the roll, an outerside wall 9 at approximately a right angle to the base wall 8, and aninner side wall 10 at an obtuse angle to the base wall 8. The abruptShoulders formed by the walls 9 tend to prevent lateral displacement ofthe material which may be forced into the end grooves 5, and the endribs 4 conform to the Shape of said end grooves so as to confinethe'material in the Corners formed by the abrupt Shoulders 9 and' thebase walls 8. As a consequence, the material under pressure tendingtospread in the end grooves 5 cannot freely escape at the ends of therolls, lateral displacement of the material being limited by the abruptShoulders 9.

I will now describe additional structural details tending to preventexcess packing of material in the end grooves 5. :All of theintermediate ribs 3 may be notched, as shown at 11, to provide 'grippingelements lUO in the form of hooks Whefeby the cane is eaught Vand pulledinto the epaces between the intermediate Yibs, but the end rihs 4 arecomparatively smooth, so as to avoid any undue tendenoy to drag thematerial into the end grooves 5. Figs. II and III show that theperipheral faces of end ribs 4: are smooth and deVoid of notohes or thelike.

As a furthei' precaution, to ininimize the delivery of cane to the endgrooves 5, baffles 12 are located at the intake sides of the rolls, asshown in Figs. and II, and these baflies lie in the course of theincoming cane,

i' Where they form obstl'uotions tending to prevent delivery of cane tothe extreme ends' of the i'olls'. Each bafle 12 has an' arcuate loweredge located in an end' groove 5 and contaetiiflg` With the base Wall 8of the groove. Each baffie also has an upper alfeuate edge conformingto` and eontacting with the smooth pelfiphery of an end rib 4:.

I elaim:

In an apparatus for` expressing juice from cane, a pair of cooperatngrolls each having 'ie'riph'ei'al i'ibs and grooves adapted to receivethe cane, the pei'ipheral grooves at the ends of one roll being of les'sdepth' than the intermediate groovee, and the end I'ibs of thev otherroll being of lese de'pth' than the intermediate i'ibs'.

n testimony that I olaini the foreg'oin'g I hereunto afi'ix niysignature.

